Western Digital have today announced the release of their newly designed Passport Essential Edition external hard disk drives which boast fashionably glossy externals, ultra small form factor design and come in 160GB, 250GB 320GB 500GB and 1TB capacities.

Being sold under the banner 'Big capacity, stylishly small' Western Digital's newly designed My Passport Essential external USB 2.0 hard disk drives measure in at a mere 15mm thickness and 12.6cm in length, boast transfer speeds of up to 480 Mbits/s and ship with Western Digital's WD Sync synchronisation and encryption software as well as a Windows only Google software bundle helping you to manage your photos and search your drive.

Western Digital My Passport Essential Edition external hard drives are compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems and the 320GB version, which offers enough capacity to hold up to 80, 000 MP3s or 140 hours of DVD quality video footage.